Retrogram vs Strands WordBox Word Search
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Retrogram
Challenge your vocabulary with a daily word puzzle. Create as many words as possible from seven letters. Enjoy a stylish, retro-themed experience designed to sharpen your mind and introduce you to new words.
- Daily hand-made puzzles
- Solve puzzles together via SharePlay
- Apple Watch compatibility
- No ads
- Discover new words
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Think you’re a word nerd? Put your vocabulary to the test with new word puzzles every day Retrogram is a love letter to the 1970s — a cozy collection of handcrafted word games, curious words and satisfying puzzles to make part of your daily routine PLAY EVERY DAY SPELLOTRON Make as many words as you can using seven letters. Find the pangram, climb the ranks and discover interesting stories behind some of your favorite words WORDWAY Build a bridge of words from one word to another. Use the letters you’re given and find a path across the board THERE’S MORE Subscribe to Retrogram to catch up on the past week of daily puzzles, explore the Puzzle Vault, play limited-edition bonus packs, switch things up with vintage app icons, and play after dark with Neon Nites FEATURES * Two handcrafted word puzzles every day * Play today’s Spellotron and Wordway puzzles for free * Catch up on the past seven days * A growing Vault of bonus puzzles * Limited-edition puzzle packs * Neon Nites dark theme * Vintage alternate app icons * SharePlay — solve together over FaceTime * Play Spellotron on your Apple Watch * No ads, ever Additional details Privacy policy: https://retrogram.app/#privacy Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Strands WordBox Word Search
Engage your mind with a challenging word search game featuring over 2,000 free puzzles. Enhance spelling and vocabulary, compete with friends, and track progress on a live leaderboard. Enjoy distraction-free gameplay with various modes and unlimited practice.
- Over 2,000 free puzzles
- Enhance spelling and vocabulary
- Play solo or challenge friends
- Live leaderboard
- Classic, Themed, and Frenzy modes
- Unlimited gameplay
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"A challenging game to keep your mind sharp!" "10/10" "Addictive and fun!" Challenge your word search skills with WordBox — the ultimate word search game with over 2,000 free puzzles to solve WITHOUT clues! • Search for hidden words in puzzles. • Enhance your spelling and vocabulary skills. • Play solo or challenge friends to a word battle. • View the app's live leaderboard to track your progress. • Thousands of free puzzles. ▶ WORD SEARCH GAME MODES ◀ 1. CLASSIC MODE: Attempt casual, hard, and impossible word search puzzles! 2. THEMED MODE: Animal, sports, and entertainment-themed puzzles await you! 3. FRENZY MODE: Beat as many 3x3 to 8x8 word games as possible in a timed challenge! ▶ HOW TO PLAY ◀ • Find and form words from an arrangement of letters in the “WordBox.” • Play the game solo or challenge friends to test your vocabulary and spelling skills. • Improve your lateral thinking by searching for hidden words by linking letters in the puzzle. • Level up your word search skills to improve your speed in finding words as you play more. • Practice as much as you want with unlimited gameplay in WordBox. ▶ WORDBOX COMPARED TO OTHER POPULAR WORD GAMES ◀ • Distraction-free, minimalist environment. • No ads or annoying pop-ups. • Solve unlimited word puzzles. • New themes and puzzle packs are added every month. • Play for free or upgrade to unlock premium puzzles available for in-app purchase. • Challenge friends to a word battle or play solo. • Improve your spelling and vocabulary skills in a stress-free environment. • Choose from over 2000+ free and premium word search finder games. ▶ SEE WHAT OTHER PLAYERS SAY ◀ • "The puzzles challenge you to think about and see words in new ways" • "The daily puzzle has the addictive effect of Wordle" • "Easy to pick up but hard to put down!" ▶ GET SUPPORT ◀ Have a question? Email us directly at oxygengamesxyz@gmail.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Strands WordBox Word Search at 88% against Retrogram's 66%. Strands WordBox Word Search also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Retrogram sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Strands WordBox Word Search sells 34 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Strands WordBox Word Search holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 327 and 933 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Retrogram's written reviews are positive against 88% of Strands WordBox Word Search's.
Retrogram ships an update every 3 weeks, Strands WordBox Word Search weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Retrogram | Strands WordBox Word Search |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (327 ratings) | 4.7 (933 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.1% of reviews | 88.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 327 | 933 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 162 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | in Color | James Ormond |
Customer experience
Retrogram
Strands WordBox Word Search
User reviews
Retrogram
From 327 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Retro aesthetic and clean interface design
- 👍 Simple and intuitive gameplay mechanics
- 🧠 Challenging and brain-stimulating puzzles
- 📚 Interesting word definitions and fun comments
- 🎮 Daily puzzle provides consistent engagement
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription pricing ($30-$80)
- 🚫 Misleading free-to-play model with paywall
- 📖 Inconsistent and limited word dictionary
- 🔄 Words accepted one day but rejected another
- ⏰ Only one puzzle per day (limited content)
Strands WordBox Word Search
From 933 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎉 Fun and challenging
- 👍 Customizable theme settings
- 🔒 Option to opt out of ads
- 💡 Variety of difficulty levels
- 🧠 Brain-stimulating gameplay
Room to improve
- 🤬 Inappropriate ads
- 🐛 Occasional performance issues
- 🤔 Lack of explanations/help
- 🤷♀️ Repetitive word choices
Bugs and requests
Retrogram
Reported bugs
7 issues- Words marked as missed that were actually found
- Puzzle letters changing when spinning the wheel
- Apple Watch app no longer functioning
- Game progress deletion without explanation
- Inconsistent word acceptance across different puzzles
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Hint feature disappeared in recent updates
- Contact support only available through Apple Mail
Requested features
10 requests- Access to previous/archived puzzles
- Multiple puzzles per day or puzzle difficulty levels
- Statistics tracking (completion rate, pangram frequency)
- Hint system that doesn't impact streak
- Word find rate percentages for context
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Immediate answer reveal after puzzle completion
- Cheaper one-time purchase option instead of subscription
- In-game dispute method for word validation
- Apple Watch functionality restoration
- Automatic daily prefix posting on social media
Strands WordBox Word Search
Reported bugs
3 issues- Daily puzzle streak broken when completed before midnight
- Landscape mode not working on some devices
- App freezing or slowing down after extended use
Requested features
4 requests- More free play puzzles
- Ability to sync progress across devices
- Option to disable hints/clues
- Larger font size for higher levels
In-app purchases
Retrogram
- Daily Puzzle (Monthly)$4.991 Month
- Daily Puzzle (Yearly)$29.991 Year
- Where in the World$3.99
- 80s Dinner Party$4.99
- Gaming Icons$4.99
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Stone Cold$4.99
- Flower Power$4.99
- Dear Reader$4.99
- Outer Rim$4.99
- Daily Puzzle (For Life)$49.99
Strands WordBox Word Search
- Unlock Offer$0.99
- Remove Ads$0.99
- Technology 2$0.99
Show 31 moreShow fewer
- Food 2$0.99
- Mathematics 2$0.99
- Animals 2$0.99
- Geography$0.99
- Sports 2$0.99
- Letter A$0.99
- Colors 2$0.99
- Marvel$0.99
- Ssssssss$0.99
- Entertainment 2$0.99
- -ing$0.99
- Rhyme Time$0.99
- 1,000 Coins$0.99
- Remove Ads$1.99
- New Player Pack3 variants$2.99
- Remove Ads$2.99
- Impossible 2$2.99
- Hard 2$2.99
- Casual 2$2.99
- 10,000 Coins$2.99
- Remove Ads$3.99
- 10,000 Coins2 variants$4.99
- Remove Ads$4.99
- 1,000 Coins$4.99
- Remove Ads$6.99
- Remove Ads$7.99
- Remove Ads$8.99
- 3,000 Coins$9.99
- 100,000 Coins$11.99
- 8,000 Coins$24.99
- 17,000 Coins$49.99
Questions
Is Retrogram free?
Is Strands WordBox Word Search free?
Which has better reviews, Retrogram or Strands WordBox Word Search?
Do Retrogram or Strands WordBox Word Search have ads?
Which is updated more often, Retrogram or Strands WordBox Word Search?
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